Catherine O'Brien told man she met on dating site of 'zero-risk' €20k horse investment, court hears
Catherine O’Brien of An Grianan, Ballinroad, Dungarvan, Co Waterford, at Waterford Circuit Court where she has pleaded not guilty to three charges of deception regarding the purchase, transport, and insurance of a French horse. Picture: Dan Linehan
“I just want to help you. In a few years you will have a nest egg… and you will learn a lot in the process,” a woman charged with fraud told a man who alleges he ‘sold’ her a phantom racehorse.
Catherine O’Brien told John Blake that buying a racehorse, a thoroughbred brood mare called Lingreville from France, would be a hugely profitable investment, Waterford Circuit Court heard.
She had already convinced him to invest €20,000 in breeding rights to a thoroughbred stallion called Shakeel.
This “zero-risk investment” would give a return of €14,000 for the first three years, with the first return due in just months, she said in messages.
The investment was “too good to be true”, Mr Blake commented in text messages.
“I just want ordinary people to see the equine world, enjoy it and benefit from it,” Ms O’Brien said in a message.
But Mr Blake never got that promised return on investment, prosecuting barrister Conor O’Doherty told Waterford Circuit Court.
A major incentive to buy the brood mare, Lingreville, was to breed her with the stallion Shakeel, the court heard. Mr Blake took a credit union loan to help pay the €20,000 for the French brood mare.
But after the horse, Lingreville, was supposed to have arrived in Ireland from France in April 2018, communications between Ms O’Brien and Mr Blake, which had been frequent, dropped off, he said.
“I was concerned about my money and about the horses,” Mr Blake said.
In a text message read to court, Mr Blake had said:
In September 2019, Mr Blake travelled to Lismore, Co Waterford to look for the mare Lingreville. He spoke to a John Walsh, who he had met previously regarding Ms O’Brien and her horses.
Mr Blake established that Lingreville did not exist through his enquiries, the court heard.
Mr Walsh mentioned an effort to help him get his money back, suggesting payments in €15,000 instalments, Mr O’Doherty said.
Mr Blake subsequently complained to gardaí through his solicitor of the alleged fraud in 2019.
Mr Blake suffered health difficulties and had a stroke in 2019, the court heard.
In October 2021, Mr Blake received payment of €22,000 and signed a settlement for the money with Mr John Walsh and Ms Catherine O’Brien, which stated it was for a brood mare named Shamalana, who had been incorrectly named as Lingreville, and for breeding rights to the stallion Shakeel.
However, defence barrister Mr O’Doherty told the court that this was after Mr Blake made his first statement to gardaí in 2019.
Ms O’Brien was arrested regarding the alleged offence in June 2020.
The Director of Public Prosecutions then charged Ms O’Brien with three counts of fraud in September 2021, Mr O’Doherty said.
And the settlement offer for a €22,000 payment was made subsequently, on October, 14, 2021, he said.
However, defence barrister Simon Donagh said that Mr Walsh had offered to pay Mr Blake €45,000 in 2019.
“Long before any agreement was signed, you were told by Mr Walsh that you would get your money back,” Mr Donagh said.
“I suggest to you there was no deception here at all,” he said.
Naming the horse Lingreville “was a mistake” and the name he should have been given was Shamalana, Mr Donagh said.
It was “a good faith error”, he said.
Mr Blake disagreed, saying that Ms O’Brien went into great detail about the horse Lingreville, about its racing history and her foals.
“I don’t accept it was an error,” he said.
Mr Blake only met Ms O’Brien once in person, despite years of communications over text messages, the court heard.
This allegedly phantom sale of a French racehorse, pitched as a lucrative investment that was “too good to be true” is at the centre of the alleged fraud case against Ms O’Brien.
Ms O’Brien met Mr Blake on dating site Plenty of Fish and, over time, convinced him to invest €20,000 in breeding rights to a thoroughbred stallion called Shakeel, the court heard.
“I promise I won’t let you down,” she told Mr Blake in one of many messages between the pair read out to Waterford Circuit Court.
She wanted “ordinary people” to have fun and make money from horses, she said. While there were huge profits, often tax free, in the industry, they were currently being made by only a few and she said she believed in opening that opportunity to more people.
She also spoke of how much of her time and resources she gave to charities, helping children with additional needs, and poverty-stricken people in India.
She spoke of caring for her elderly uncle and visiting her father’s grave.
“You’re an angel sent from heaven,” Mr Blake said in one of their many messages when she promised him large, tax-free profits from equine investments she would organise for him.
Ms O’Brien said in a message:
Mr Blake agreed to buy Lingreville, described as a brood mare of exceptional pedigree which would be a brilliant investment, for €20,000.
Mr O’Doherty told the court that she said Mr Blake would also have to pay €984 to transport the mare from France to Ireland to prove ownership.
Mr Blake was not a man of considerable financial means and €20,000 was a lot of money, particularly after putting in money already for the breeding rights share on the stallion Shakeel, Mr O’Doherty told the court.
“He told her he would have to get a credit union loan,” Mr O’Doherty said.
This money was to go to Ms O’Brien directly – not to the agent selling the horse in France – Mr O’Doherty said.
Ms O’Brien is accused of deception charges related to John Blake and the purchase, transport, and insurance of a French mare called Lingreville.
It is alleged that she “dishonestly by deception” induced Mr Blake to pay €20,000 to purchase the horse — which the State alleges was not purchased; to pay €1,100 insurance for the mare — which the State said was not paid; and €984 to transport the horse from France to Ireland — which the State says was not transported as alleged.
Ms O’Brien, of An Grianan, Ballinroad, Dungarvan, Co Waterford, has pleaded not guilty to the three charges of making gain or causing loss by deception contrary to Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001.
Ms O’Brien, aged 47, formerly lived in Buttevant, Co Cork.
The trial, in front of Judge Eugene O’Kelly and a jury of seven women and five men, continues.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
